Quote from: cryptodromeda on November 12, 2015, 04:09:52 AM

You make some interesting points, but there's something about that philosophy that's a little jarring. It really depends what your objective is.

The truth is frequently uncomfortable, especially when we are faced with our animal nature laid out so bare. The human brain does a great job explaining to itself all day why it's special, and it really doesn't like being reminded that its a few bits and pieces away from being a dumb beast with only selfish instincts to go on.

I am a man. When I see another guy with a better body, an amazing suit, incredible car, and women draped across his arm several triggers go off in me. Envy is certainly one. Part of me wonders what he did to deserve so much while I struggle. But another part of me also wonders what *I* need to do to get those things.

Make no mistake, I am a big fan of charity and one of the altruistic reasons I am so big on cryptocurrency is that it will bring equal access to money to every member of our species. As a young boy, I would have been a lost and damned soul without the infinite halls of the Internet to wander and learn in. I understand how important equal opportunity is for all of us. Everyone should have an equal chance to prove their worth, and thankfully the Internet and cryptocurrency will provide that.

But I also am not blind to my animal nature. Acknowledging the ego does not mean being a slave to it, and rest assured that others who are less conscious and intelligent than yourself will not reach such heights - but they will command vast sums of money, the same as they always have.

From the way you type, you seem to be a girl, right? Imagine my scenario, but a version for yourself using status symbols that you know would evoke similar reactions. Remember, acknowledging our natures doesn't mean we are slaves to it. But if we wish to design systems that the entire human race will use, we must understand the entire human race - not just the intellectually elite.

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If the objective is simply to make something appear valuable so that people will become entranced by it's subliminal extravagance, what does that say about what's being achieved here? Are we just trying to make the price go up? All the brands you referred to in the picture relate to luxury/wealth/extravagance. It's almost as if you're trying to ensnare people in on the basis of them becoming wealthy with Aeon. Is that really the right message?

This is equivalent to accusing the early Bitcoin pioneers of "pumping their worthless nerd bucks" when they tried to get people involved in Bitcoin. Were some of them motivated by merely increasing the price of their tokens? Possibly. Is greater adoption and recognition synonymous with a higher price? Unfortunately, yes. I have both selfish and altrustic goals. If I tell you that I have no desire for wealth, that's not true. But I also know that this is another human factor we can rely on and exploit.

No one is trying to ensnare anyone. Aeon represents nothing except itself. As smooth is fond of saying, "There is no spoon."

Why does anyone purchase a Tiffany's diamond? Diamonds aren't even naturally rare, and they are certainly quite worthless to the average person. But we don't demonize the average person for desiring this status symbol. I consider myself extremely intelligent, and I'll confess to you: as downright idiotic as I know it would be, if I had an excessive amount of wealth, my fiancee would get a diamond from Tiffany's. Why? Because I might be a very smart human, but I am still a human, and it's ok to indulge in a few innocent and base instincts occasionally when you take breaks from being on the 'bleeding edge' of our global consciousness.

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My interest in Aeon is that it is a potentially amazing radical private currency that is suited particularly for low-fidelity hardware. We're on libertarian crypto-anarchist territory here. I'm not sure dressing it up as a BMW is the right approach.

So what is your objective? Think carefully about this.

Do you remember this little thing? For sure you do; I know I do -

It was amazing. It advanced the entire art of the smart phone. It packaged together many concepts that already existed and innovated on top of a few. Then it wrapped it all in very "luxurious" packaging.

Don't think about how things are now. Remember back to 2006 and 2007 when these things first came out. They cost $600, and I used my entire paycheck to buy one.

I admit, I really enjoyed the "oohs" and "ahhs" of my bosses and superiors at work as I trumped this thing out. Everyone wanted to touch it. Everyone desired it. People looked at me differently for owning it. In Russia, for a while, you didn't even dare be seen wearing the white iPhone earbuds for fear of being mugged.

What's my point? This little son-of-a-bitch eventually changed the world for the better. Now smartphones and touch screens are ubiquitous and as a result of everyone having a computer in their pocket our civilization is growing and advancing faster than ever. A lot of my posts on Reddit and Bitcointalk have been made on a device like this. The key is, none of these concepts are exclusive.

People can be involved in things for different reasons. The original iPhone was simultaneously a status symbol, a marvel of new technology, and a ground breaking innovation that would eventually transform and advance our species. People didn't have to choose a reason to participate - all were valid, and all advanced the movement.

Aeon will be the same. Some will be passionate about the cutting edge technology that is underneath the hood. Some will love the fact that the Cryptonote protocol that backs Aeon (along with Aeon specific innovations) will eventually save lives and bring happiness to billions. Some will want the status of owning these tokens. And yes, some will just want to get rich.

You can't help that. That's human nature. So we have to figure out how we want to exploit it, not fight it. My objective? All of the above. I am here because I know that Cryptonote based currencies are the future, just like the moment I touched that shiny fucking iPhone I knew it was the future. And despite being somewhat of an ass at times, I am also a philanthropist at heart. I realize that these currencies will do amazing good for our world. And the best part of all? Like that kid in that movie about the gameshow, I realize that all my experiences in life have led me here to help with this and uniquely equipped me with the wisdom and knowledge necessary to make a difference. For the first time in my life I don't just get to watch the future unravel in front of me, I get to participate in it.

Now let's bring it full circle, because that's the ultimate status. Reality is, we can't all be as smart as Nick Szabo. We can't all orate as well as Andreas Antonopopotamus. We can't all navigate the complex legal web necessary to bring something like Gemini into existence like the Winklevoss Twins.

Here's the important part: But we all still want to feel special, like we're going above and beyond. Don't you think there's a lot of wealthy people out there who grapple with that fact every day? That they might be wealthy, but they aren't the smartest, or the prettiest, or the strongest. They grapple with their own mortality and desperately wish for a product, or icon, or something they can spend their money on to give their life meaning. Well, in a world of hundreds of inferior mathematical systems (other cryptocurrencies) I can't think of a more worthy symbol than Aeon to fill this need. Even by having this conversation we are establishing that Aeon is a digital token that represents the bleeding edge of human potential.

And the good news is that because raging humanists like you and me are the early adopters here, as long as we don't lose sight of our extropian, philanthropic, and benevolent goals, perhaps we will be in a position to do some kick-ass-awesome-good-things one day.

I'm here for the same reason you or anyone is: Aeon and Cryptonote are the future, and I think I can help. I might get rich along the way, and if so, it will be an unfortunate side effect. But others will come in time with the sole goal of getting rich or feeling special by owning Aeon and that will be fine too. We can make use of all the talent and resources we can get.

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It's interesting because I'm really not feeling this at all (with all due respect to critical60). To me this seems like all of the other altcoins out there. The blue and the grey kinda reminds me of a miserable wet day, and the white lines seem way too thin - kinda wimpy. Fatten those white lines up!

Maybe with some tweaks I could get behind it.

I'm so fired up from that sermon I just gave (I seriously should have done it in video form - maybe down the road) I can't even think about practical graphical design right now. Smooth already tore it up, so I think I'll ruminate on it a little and come back tomorrow with some constructive criticism. But like I said before, https://youtu.be/9s3GvqjvoCc?t=29s